Grain of Sand
by Angel Tsuiraku
Summary: A terrorist attack in England causes fingers to be pointed at the Middle East. The Middle East claims they didn't attack. It's up to the Gundam Pilots and the Preventers to prevent war.


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Author's notes: Whew! Finally starting…*^^* All right, if you're as hopelessly lost with politics as I am, this is gonna be a little complicated. England (not the entire UK, just England) revolted peacefully against the World Nation and is now its own country once more. So, there's the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, and then there's England. Kinda funky? They've only been independent for about a year…but things are going well. The year is AC 201. That's where this all begins, so enjoy!

A Grain of Sand: _The Hourglass Turns_

--February 28, AC 201--

"And in the latest reports today, a massive terrorist attack has taken out much of southeastern London earlier this morning, in an area that includes St. James's Park, New Scotland Yard, a stretch of Victoria Street, Home office, the Passport office, and some of the Wellington Barracks. One of the largest industrial buildings destroyed in the blast was the European branch of Winner Enterprises. This branch was a major link between the colonies and Earth, its strongest ties with, surprisingly, L-1. L-1 is a Japanese colony…"

Quatre Raberba Winner heaved a sigh and shut off the television. In a few days he would be heading to Japan to speak with many company heads about how this would effect business. It was common knowledge that natural resources on Earth were quickly heading toward nothingness, and many of the elected officials were looking at Winner Enterprises as a source of raw materials after the resources on Earth disappeared. After this terrorist attack, however, a major tie in Quatre's network between space and Earth was completely severed.

"Crap," he muttered under his breath. Such expletives were rare from the Winner heir, but, he decided grimly, the situation called for it. And only 8 days after his birthday, too [1].

His breakfast was further spoiled by the headlines of the newspapers he'd subscribed to. Fingers had been pointed at the Middle East.

_This is going to put major strains on the company…and myself as well. I can't please everyone.…_he thought darkly. His Middle Eastern heritage [2] would be a setback. His one saving grace was the fact that one of his buildings had been destroyed. Fingers wouldn't be pointed at his company.

_What am I thinking? I should be grateful that the building had been shut down…thank Allah the foundation was weak! Otherwise many of my good employees would have died._

Unfortunately, though his employees had been spared, many other lives hadn't. The tragedy had rocked London hard, and it would put a major strain on a country that was rebuilding itself. It hadn't been too long ago that England had received its independence from the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, and the English intended on rebuilding and preserving their way of life. It seemed, however, that some people were opposed to the fact that England was once again England, and not a part of the European Providence of the Earth Sphere.

Still grumbling to himself about politics and the like, Quatre dumped his tea into the sink and dragged himself upstairs to shower. He had a lot to do—make plane reservations, call a meeting, help with the clean up efforts in London…It was enough to boggle the mind. He trudged into the bathroom and turned on the water.

_Why would the Middle East, _he thought quite suddenly, _attack England?_

~*~

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March 1, AC 201

Overnight, London had changed, and it was a change that Angel Tsuiraku Kurama didn't like in the slightest. Though Angel's late mother was English, her father was Middle Eastern, and right now Londoners hated anything Middle Eastern. Though only yesterday Angel thought that her life at school wouldn't change, her hopes had been shattered during the night. Tired after a day of watching the news recount over and over again the attack that destroyed lives, homes, and business, Angel had trudged toward her car in a numb state. Three boys had caught up with her and scared her nearly to death, tired as she was, by knocking her down and threatening her. As if, she thought now, sourly, I had caused the attack.

The cruelty had continued throughout the day, and it was no longer just her fellow students that were the attackers. Nor was she the only target. By the end of the day, Angel was terrified. She had to get out of England. By now the Londoners had reached a boiling point. People were being driven out of the city. Mobs were springing up, a man hunt was out. So now, at eight o' clock in the evening, Angel was slipping out of her flat and heading silently toward a shuttle port. By ten thirty, she was on a direct flight to Japan, where she hoped to find her best friend, Makoto Tanaka.

The shuttle was playing the latest news.

_"Just moments ago here in London a mob killed one man and seriously injured another. Both were from the Middle East. It is unclear what courses London's law enforcement will take, but it is rapidly becoming a very dangerous situation…"_

"There's always someone willing to fight," said a voice beside Angel. It was a pleasant voice; smooth and soothing. But something in the tone made her shudder. She turned to the owner of it.

"It was, after all, only a matter of time. And you are running from it, running from the battle."

"That was no battle," Angel whispered, "that was a massacre."

But the blonde woman beside her only smiled and stroked her left eyebrow. "And who are you running to? Not family."

How the woman knew these things was beyond Angel's grasp. She blinked at the woman, trying to decide whether she was glad for the company or if she detested it.

"No, not family."

"Because they're all dead."

Angel fell silent, white-hot pain flashing through her. "Yes, they're dead."

"So, who then?"

"Well, who are you running to?" Angel countered.

The woman's smile changed, became cunning, bloodthirsty, the eyes calculating and pleased.

"I'm not running. I'm going to take this spark and ignite it elsewhere."

And Angel shuddered. For some reason, she believed this woman.

--

"The damage is going to cost millions upon millions of dollars," Quatre murmured, rubbing his temples. On the other end of the vid link, Chang Wufei frowned.

"And you will, of course, donate most of the money needed." It was not an inquiry.

"Of course. What else can I do?" he replied with a sigh. He looked, Wufei thought, haggard. The man hadn't had sleep in a few days, that fact made obvious by the dark circles under the blonde's eyes, the red-rimmed eyes, the haunted look.

"Nothing. You are doing the right thing. And your trip to Japan?" Wufei asked.

"In two days. The colony delegates are gathering there, too, to see me. And Heero has agreed to meet me at the shuttle port. Wufei, I have to thank you for listening to me. I hate to break into your privacy."

Wufei only smiled, which was a rare sight from the disciplined young man. "You are a friend, Quatre, and I always have time for a friend."

"And I'm grateful for it. In fact, if you could meet me in China, I would really appreciate it," Quatre added.

"I'll do my best, then." With another smile, Wufei bid his goodbyes and shut the vid com off.

The look in Quatre's eyes, however, continued to haunt Wufei's thoughts. England was making it hard on Quatre, not only because of the destruction of one of the largest economy boosters in the city, but also because of the man's heritage. Wufei knew what it was to be judged by heritage. He was often perceived as a chauvinistic, ranting pig. He would, he decided, do his very best to go to Japan to meet his friend.

--

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Makoto Tanaka.

That was all the paper in his hand said. It was enough, though. Heero Yuy had tracked Makoto Tanaka, over the course of six months, to Tokyo University. She was apparently a very dangerous woman, and she was suspected of taking part in the terrorist attack in some way.

Heero didn't believe this though. What he did believe was that she knew something about a girl he was interested in: Miyo Tanaka. There was nothing Heero desired more than finding Miyo, and there was no more daunting task.

He stepped onto the campus and headed for the office. He'd arranged it so he'd have all of the same classes as her. He accepted his schedule and headed to his first class. He sat next to the girl. And when class ended, he stopped her.

"I need to talk to you."

^-^

[1—this is made up…I decided that Q's b-day is February 20.]

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That's it for part one…just a mini cliffhanger, eh? I know it's short, but I can't seem to write those long chapters (and I'm so jealous of those people who can!!) but I promise to post as often as I can to make up for it. Please PLEASE review, I'll love you forever! If you have questions, and I can answer them, email me at quatresboo@hotmail.com

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_Ang


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